Reamer



Dec. 15, 1925. 4

.A. E. CARLSON RE'AMER I Fild Jan. 26, 1925 5 Sheets-Shed. 2

W012. A/vrfio/vy 644450,,

Dec. 15, 1925. 1,565,788

A. E. CARLSON REAMER File'd Jan. 26, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet :5

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A/W'Wav f: 64,9450,

ATTOR/S/EZYZ' Patented Dec. 15,, 1925.

UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE.

REAMER.

Application filed January 26, 1925. Serial No. 4,765.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANTHONY E. CARL- soN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and Stateof California, have invented a new and useful Reamer, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to rotary well drilling equipment, and itparticularly concerns a rotary reamer.

In the drilling of wells by the rotary system, a rotary drill'is securedat the lower end of a drill pipe by which it is rotated to produce awell. The drill pipe extends upwardly through the well and is supportedby a a travelling block of a derrick situated at the surface of theground. .A rotary table situated upon the derrick floor is employed forrotating the drill pipe, thus imparting a rotation to the rotary bit,thus sinking the well. When the rotary bit has been in use a short time,the cutting edgesthereof wear down, and the bit will not produce a holeof the intended size. It is common practice to secure to the drill pipeabove the rotary bit a reamer which trims the wall of the hole to propergauge. It is to reamers of this character that my invention relates.

It is an object of my invention to provide a reamer of this characterwhich will cut rapidly and which will have long life. My inventionprovides a reamer having cutters, some of which have axial teeth,whereas others have circumferential teeth. The en'- gagement of thecutters having axial teeth, with the wall of the hole, cuts longitudinalgrooves therein; and the engagement of the cutters havingcircumferential teeth, with the wall of the hole, cuts circular groovestherein, the combined effect of these cutters producing a checkeredformation on the wall ofthe hole. These checkers or projections readilysplinter and crumble away as the reamer is rotated. Further, the cuttersare arranged to have rolling engagement with the wall of the hole; thisI accomplish by' placing the cutters on rotational axes which i areparallel with the axis of rotation of the body of the reamer.

It is another object of my invention to provide a reamer of thischaracter which is strong and compact. The reamer of my invention has amassive body having cavities formed therein in which the cutters aresituated. Only a small portion of the cutting edge of these cutters ofthe body.

It is a still further object of my invention to provide a reamer havinga novel assembly of but few parts. The cutter members are rotatable inthe cavities of the body on pins which are retained in the body andextend through these cavities. The bearing pins are retained ,in placeby means of a retaining member which is secured to the body. I

It is also an object of my invention to provide a novel means forholding the bearing pins in place and for preventing a rotation thereof.I provide retaining means in the form of an annular ring which isarranged protrude the extremity to be threadably secured to the body, afaceof this ring engaging with the pins in such a manner as to retainthem in place in the body. To prevent rotation of the bearing pins Iform tongues thereon which are arranged to extend into an annular groovein the retaining ring.

Other objects and advantages of my in vention will be made evidenthereinafter.

in which I illustrate a preferred form of my invention, 1

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the utility of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken through a reamer embodying thefeatures of my invention, this view being taken substantially on theline 2-2 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a section taken as indicated by the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a section taken as indicated by the line 44 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is an elevational view vention taken as indicated by the arrow 5of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is an elevational view of my invention taken as indicated by thearrow 6 of .Fig. 3.

.Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary detail so Referring to the two sheetsof drawingsof my inl illustrating a construction employed for preventinga rotation of the bearing pins of my invention.

* Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary view illustrating the manner inwhich the cutters of my reamer will wear.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view through another embodiment of myinvention.

Fig. 10 is a section taken as indicated by the line 1010 of Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary sectional view through a third embodiment of myinvention.

Fig. 12 is a section taken as indicated by the line 1212 of Fig. 11. I

With reference to Fig. l, I show a reamer 11 embodying the features ofmy invention secured to the lower end of a drill pipe 12 which extendsinto a well 13. Secured below the reamer 11 is a rotary bit 14 which isemployed to produce the well 13. The drill pipe 12 extends upwardlythrough the well 13 as shown, and has a swivel head 15 secured to theupper end thereof. A travelling block 16 attaches to the swivel head 15and supports the drill pipe 12. On the floor 17 of a derrick 18 ismounted the rotary machine 19 by which the drill pipe 12 is rotated. Apressure pump 20 is provided for supplying rotary mud to the bit 14,this pump 20 being connected to the swivel head 15 by means of a standpipe 21 and a flexible hose 22. As the bit 14 wears, the cutters thereofwill cut a hole which is not of proper size. IVhen this occurs, thecutters of the reamer 1101 my invention will trim the wall of the holeto its intended gauge.

The reamer 11 is shown in detail in Figs. 2 to 8, inclusive, of thedrawings. \Vith reference to these figures, the reamer 11 is provided inthe form of a body 25 having an enlarged portion 26, a shank 27 and ahead 28. The head 28 is threadably secured on the threaded portion 29 ofthe shank 27, which portion 29 extends into a cavity 30 of the head 28.This head 28 provides a threaded tool joint pin 32 which adapts thereamer for attachment to the lower end of the drill pipe 12. At thelower end of the enlargement 26is a tool joint box 33 which adapts thisreamer for the securing of the hit 14 thereto.

In the enlargement 26 is formed cutter receiving cavities 35 havingsemi-cylindrical bottoms 36 and flat ends 37. These cavities, as shownin the drawings, extend parallel to the axis of the body 25. Bearingpins 39 extend through these cavities 35, the lower ends of the bearingpins 39 extending into cylindrical cavities 40 formed in the body 25 andconnecting with the lower endsof the cavities 35. The upper ends of thepins 39 extend through cylindrical openings 42 -which connect betweenthe upper faces 37 of the cavities 35 and an annular shoulder 43 formedat the end of the enlargement 26. The bearing pins 39 extend parallelwith respect to each other and extend parallel with respect to the axisof rotation of the reamer 11.

Rotatably carried on these bearing pins 39 within the cavaties 35 arecutters 44. In the drawings I show two cutters 45 of the series ofcutters 44 having circumferential teeth 46, and one cutter 47 of thecutters 44 having axial teeth 48. The cutter 47 may be provided in twosections as shown. If desired, I may provide two of the cutters withaxial teeth and one cutter with circumferential teeth, or I may providea greater number of cutters. The axial and circumferential toothedcutters are placed in corresponding radial and axial positions. Betweenthe opposite ends 50 of the cutters 44 and the end walls 37 of thecavities 35 I provide wear plates 51. The wear plates 51, as shown, aresubstantially the same shape as the cross section of the cavities sothat they will be restrained from rotation. Due to the provision ofthese wear plates 51, there will be no wear on the body 25 of thereamer, this wear being taken from the cutters entirely by the wearplates 51.

The shank 27 of the body 25 is threaded at 56 at the lower end thereofat that portion adjacent to the upper face 43 of the enlarged portion 26of the body 25. A retaining or looking ring 57 is threaded onto thethreaded portion" 56 for retaining the bearing pins 39 in place. A lowerface 58 of the retaining ring 57 engages with upper faces 59 of thebearing pins 39 and also with the upper face 43 of the enlargment 26.This engagement between the upper faces 59 of the bearing pins 39 locksthese pins against up-and-down movement and secures them in place. Thehead 28 and the shank 27 of the body 25 are made separate to permit theplacing of the retaining ring 57 around the shank 27.

As clearly shown in Fig. 7, each of the bearing pins 39 is provided withan arcuated tongue 61 which projects upwardly from a 'face 59 of each ofthe bearing pins 39. An

annular groove or recess 62 is formed in the retaining ring 57 andextends upwardly from the lower face 58 thereof. The tongues 61 of the.bearing pins 39 extend into the annular recess 62. (Jo-engagementbetween the faces of the tongue 61 and the walls of the recess 62prevents a rotation of the hearing pins 39. It is necessary to providethe recess 62 completely annular to permit the threading of theretaining ring 57 on the portion 56, it being necessary, as is obvious,to rotate the ring 57 to accomplish the installation thereof. Thesecuring ring 57, after it has been installed in its proper position. issecured in place by a suitable pin 64,

as shown clearly in Fig. 2 of the drawings. Rotary mudfor the bit 14passes through a central opening 65 which extends axially through thebody 25.

The operation of the reamer is substantially as follows:

. When the rotary bit fails to cut the hole to proper gauge, the cuttingteeth 46 and 48 of the cutters 44 engage with the Wall of the hole andtrim it to proper size. The engagement between the cutters 45 and thewall of the hole tends to roll them on their own axes as the entirereamer rotates. The circumferential teeth 46 engage the wall of the holeand cut annular or circumferential grooves in the surface thereof. Theaxial teeth 48 engage the wall of the hole and cut longitudinal or axialgrooves therein, which extend at right angles to the circumferentialgrooves cut by the teeth 46. This is resultant in checkering the surfaceof the wall of the hole, producing a multiplicity of projectionsthereon. It is found that theseprojections readily splinter and crumbleaway as the reamer operates. The teeth of the cutters extend around theentire periphery of the cutters and, therefore, cutters having extensivecutting area are provided. Also the combining of the two types oftoothed cutters splinters away the wall before the teeth imbed to anygreat extent. These features cooperate to prolong the life of thecutters over an extensive period of time.

In practice it is found that substantially all the cutting of the reameris at the lower ends of the cutters 44. To distribute the work to agreater number of teeth, I have made the cutters 44 conical at each endthereof, as indicated at 66 in the drawings. After the reamer has beenin use for some time, it is found that the cutters 44 tend to wear, asillustrated in Fig. 8. The teeth at the lower end of the cutters wearoff so that the lower end of these cutters conform to a conical shape,as indicated at 68 in this figure. The teeth in the extreme lower endsof the cutters become quite dull; however, the teeth at the upper partof the cutters still remain sharp and efficient to remove the face ofthe wall of the. hole. When the cutters become worn to the. extent shownin Fig. 8, the reamer may be removed and the cutters inverted so as tobring the upper end of the cutters 44 into'a lower portion where theywill do work. This inverting feature substantially doubles the life ofthe cutters 44;

The ease with which the cutters may be re placed or reversed is afeature of my invention. The ring is unthreaded from the portion 56 andlifted to permit the removal of the pins 39, so that the cutters arefree for removal.

The reamer of my invention has but few parts which are so arranged anddesigned that they are very sturdy. The cutters 44 are well protecteddue to the fact that they rest almost entirely in the cavities'35. Onlya small portion of these cutters extend beyond the extremity of theenlarged portion 26 of the body 25. The retaining ring 57 serves tosecurely retain the bearing pins 39 in place, and also serves to lockthese pins against rotation.

In Figs. 9 and 10 I show a reamer in which a body 90 has an enlargment91, a shank 92 and a head 93 which are formed integral. A retaining ring94 is threaded on a portion 95 of the shank 92. In order to install theretaining ring 94, it is necessary to provide this ring in halves 96 and97. These halves are placed around the shank 92 and are thereaftersecured together by bolts .98, which extend through lugs 99 formed onthe halves 96 and 97. These lugs 99, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, areformed above the ring 94 and, therefore, do not project beyond theextreme radius of the enlargement 91, and consequently do not in any wayinterfere with .the operation of the reamer. This type of ring 94 has anannular channel 100 in which tongues 101 of bearing pins 102, whichsupport cutters 103, extend.

In Figs. 11 and 12 I show another modification of my invention whichemploys a retaining ring 110, which is secured in place by an internalannular lip 111 which extends into an annular channel 112 formed at thelower end of a shank 113. The ring 110, as clearly shown in Fig. 12, ismade in three segments115 which are secured together by bolts 116,extending through lugs 117, formed at each end of each of the. segments115. Radial slots 119 are formed in the segments 115, these slots beingcut from the lower face 120 of the ring 110. Tongues 121 of bearing pins122 extend into these slots 119. In this arrangement the segments 115are assembled radially into place and are thereafter secured together bythe bolts 116. This is possible by providing the slots 119 in a radialextension.

In the modification of my invention shown in Figs. 9 and 10, and 11 and12, the body is made in one piece. he retaining rings of thesemodifications are comprised of component parts to permit this ntegralbody construction. In all types of my invention the cutters having axialteeth and the cutters having circumferential teeth are situated incorresponding axial and radial positions.

Although I have shown certain embodiments of my invention, it should beunderstood that various alterations therein may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of my invention. If desired, a moreor less number of cutters may be provided and a more or less number ofcutters of either type ofcutting teeth may be provided as desired.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a reanier of the class described, the combination of: a body, saidbody comprising cutter cavities formed therein and openings formed ateach end of said cavities; bearing pins extending into said openings; asplit securing ring carried by said body for securing said bearing pinsin place; and cutters carried on said bearing pins in said cavities.

2. In a reamer of the class described, the combination of: a body havincutter receiving cavities formed therein; bearing pins, said bearingpins extending through openings provided in said body and said bearingpins extending through said cavities; cutters carried in said cavitiesby said bearing pins; tongues formed on said bearing pins; and asecuring ring carried by said body, said securing ring being adapted toengage said bearing pins in order to retain them in place and saidsecuring ring having slots into which said tongues extend so as toprevent a rotation of said bearing pins in said openings.

8. A reamer as set forth in claim 2 in which said securing ring is splitand said slots are of radial extension.

4. A reamer as set forth in claim 2 in which said ring has an annularlip extending into an annular channel formed in said body, said annularlip and said annular channel cooperating to retain said securing ring inplace.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles,California, this 21st day of January, 1925.

ANTHONY E. CARLSON.

